SEVP Portal: Login, Account Setup, and OPT Reporting

What the SEVP Portal Is

The SEVP Portal is the Department of Homeland Security website where F-1 students on post-completion OPT, including the STEM extension, and M-1 students on practical training report the information federal rules require them to keep current. You log in at sevp.ice.gov/opt. Through the portal you can update your home and mailing addresses, telephone number, and employer information, and view your employment authorization.

The portal is not SEVIS itself. SEVIS is the government database behind your student record, and only your school's Designated School Official (DSO) and government officers work in it directly. The portal is your window into part of that record: what you enter is sent to SEVIS immediately, while changes made in SEVIS reach the portal once a day, so a DSO update appears the next day.

Creating an account and using the portal is free. The only portal-related emails the government sends are for creating an account, unlocking an account, and resetting a password, and they all come from [email protected]. Anyone who asks you for money in connection with the portal is not SEVP.

Source: SEVP Portal Overview, Study in the States, DHS overview of the SEVP Portal and its users

Account Setup and First Login

You cannot register for the portal on your own. The account creation email is triggered automatically once three things are true: USCIS has approved your OPT, your OPT start date has arrived, and your SEVIS record has your current email address. The message comes from [email protected] with the subject line "Optional Practical Training Approval - the next step. Create an SEVP Portal account."

1. Open the email and click the registration link. The link is unique to you, works once, and expires 14 days after the email was sent.
2. Enter your SEVIS ID, the number starting with N in the top left corner of your Form I-20.
3. Create a password that meets the portal rules: at least 12 characters, with at least one letter, one number, and one special character, and it cannot contain your SEVIS ID.
4. Click Create Account. The login page opens with a success message, and from then on you log in at sevp.ice.gov/opt with your email address and password.

If the creation email never arrives, check your spam and junk folders first; the message is automated and lands there often. Then ask your DSO to confirm that the email address in your SEVIS record is correct and to have the portal resend the account creation email. Your DSO can also request a fresh link if yours expired before you used it.

Source: Create an SEVP Portal Account, Study in the States, DHS instructions for creating an SEVP Portal account

Unlocking a Locked SEVP Portal Account

The portal locks accounts in three situations, and the fix is different for each:

• Three wrong passwords in a row. The portal emails you a temporary password. Log in with it, then set a new password.
• Three wrong SEVIS ID entries during registration. Ask your DSO to submit an unlock request in SEVIS.
• No login for 90 days. Contact your DSO to regain access.

A forgotten password on its own does not need a DSO. Click Reset Password under the login fields, enter your email address and SEVIS ID, and the portal emails you a reset link. Passwords also expire every 90 days, the portal prompts you to change one that has expired, and you cannot reuse any of your previous eight passwords.

If you believe someone else has tried to log in to your account, change your password immediately and report it to your DSO and the SEVP Response Center at [email protected] or (703) 603-3400.

Source: Make and Maintain User Password, Study in the States, DHS password policy, reset, and lockout rules for the SEVP Portal

How to Report a New Employer in the SEVP Portal

Students on post-completion OPT must report changes to employer and contact information within 10 days of the change. The portal is how you do that yourself. To add a job, click Edit Employment in the top navigation, then Add Employer, and fill in the employer name, the full physical address where you work, your job title, whether the work is full or part time, the start date, and one or two sentences on how the job relates to your degree. The portal will not accept a start date earlier than the start date on your EAD. If you work for yourself, tick the Self Employed checkbox and the portal fills in your name as the employer.

When you change jobs, never overwrite an old employer entry with the new company. Add an end date to the old employer, then add the new one as its own entry. The reporting OPT employment guide walks through each field and covers what to do if you are past the 10-day deadline.

Address and phone changes live on the Edit Profile page, which opens by default after you log in. You can edit your physical address, mailing address, and telephone numbers. The portal validates addresses against postal records and refuses to save one it cannot verify, so enter abbreviated forms like 126 N Wayne St rather than 126 North Wayne Street.

The Delete button only works on an employer you never actually worked for, such as a duplicate entry. Deletion happens immediately and without a confirmation prompt, so check you have the right entry before clicking.

Source: Update Employer Information, Study in the States, DHS instructions for adding, editing, and deleting employers in the SEVP Portal

Source: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(12)(ii), Federal regulation on OPT student reporting requirements

What You Can Edit Yourself vs What Needs Your DSO

On post-completion OPT you can handle most reporting in the portal without help: adding employers, ending them, editing their details, and updating your addresses and phone numbers. On a STEM OPT extension the portal is more limited, because the Form I-983 training plan puts your DSO in the middle of employer changes.

STEM OPT students see no Add Employer button. A new employer means a new Form I-983 submitted to your DSO, who enters the employer directly into SEVIS; it appears in your portal the next day. You also cannot change an employment start date, since that date must match the I-983. You can still edit the other fields of an employer already in the system, including the extra STEM fields for the Employer Identification Number and your supervisor's name, phone, and email. When a STEM job ends, report the end date within 10 days and send your DSO the final I-983 evaluation within 10 days of your last day. STEM OPT students also confirm their record with their DSO every six months.

• Enter or change a STEM OPT employer (from your Form I-983)
• Change any employment start date on STEM OPT
• Correct your name, date of birth, or employment authorization dates
• Unlock an account after failed SEVIS ID attempts or 90 days without a login
• Resend the account creation email or request a fresh registration link
• Enter or fix employment records the portal will not accept

Everything on that list runs through SEVIS, so it is your DSO who does it. One message with your SEVIS ID, what needs to change, and the supporting document usually gets it done.

Source: OPT Student Reporting Requirements, Study in the States, DHS summary of what OPT and STEM OPT students report and when

Checking Your Employment Record and Unemployment Days

The Edit Employment page doubles as your official employment history: it lists each authorization with the employer names and start and end dates SEVIS has for you. What it does not show is a running unemployment day total. Every day between your OPT start date and your first job, and every gap between jobs, counts toward the 90-day unemployment limit, so count the gaps between the dates the portal lists or ask your DSO for the total SEVIS shows.

If a job is missing or the dates are wrong, contact your DSO to correct the record. Unreported working time looks identical to unemployment in SEVIS, and it keeps counting against your limit until an employer record covers it.

Source: SEVP Portal Help, SEVP Portal employment records